Rejoice! ...but not for long

On this Laetare Sunday it seems that creation itself encourages the faithful to rejoice.

Today, like the similar Guadete Sunday during Advent, takes its name from Introit of the Mass:

Laetare, Ierusalem, et conventum factite, omnes qui diligitis eam; guadete cum laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis, ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.

Or, in English:

Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts.

With temperatures in the lower 70s here in the Diocese and much of the midwest today, we seem to have received a great blessing in the absence of the usual Lenten temperature this season. On top of this, there is a great breeze and a beautifully blue sky. It all seems to say: Rest. Rejoice. Relax. For tomorrow it will be back to the rigors of Lent.

The temperature will plummet throughout the day tomorrow, bringing with it rain turning later to ice (but not more than a quarter inch) and then to snow on Tuesday (several inches may accumulate). Doesn't that sound like fun?

Eat, drink and be merry today for tomorrow you might not leave your house!